The present invention relates to a liquid container for containing therein beverage such as orange juice and sport drink.
Known is a liquid container formed of flexible sheet in the bag shaped configuration provided with an upper opening, such container being available for containing beverage such as for example, orange juice. The beverage is filled in the container through the upper opening and then the opening is thermally sealed. A wall of the container is formed with a hole which is normally closed by an adhesive sheet. For drinking the beverage, the adhesive sheet is peeled from the wall and a sealing film at the hole is broken by the insertion of a straw into an interior of the container.
According to such type of the conventional container, the straw must be further provided. If the straw is not provided together with the container, or if a user loses the straw, it would be difficult to enjoy drinking. For example, the user must try to open the sealed opening of the container which however, is rather troublesome if a cutter or knife is not available.
In order to overcome the above-described disadvantages, another type of liquid container has been developed which includes an upwardly open bag-shaped main body made of a flexible film and a beverage delivery unit secured to the upper opening. The beverage delivery unit is provided with a mouth portion and a conduit extending into an interior of the container body.
The liquid container of the latter type is light in weight and can be easily opened in comparison with other types of liquid containers such as cans and bottles, and therefore, it is used for containing various sauces for noodles, meats and the like as well as beverages.
The liquid container of the improved type can overcome the above described problem. However, since the liquid is filled through the mouth portion of the liquid delivery unit into the container, air in the container may remain at the upper portion thereof, so that the liquid would not be sufficiently filled in the container. Further, when the liquid in the container is poured into another liquid receptacle such as a cup through the delivery unit, part of the liquid in the container still remains therein, since the conduit portion of the delivery unit deeply extends into the container interior. That is, an open end of the conduit is positioned adjacent the container bottom, so that liquid in the container may be displaced toward the upper portion of the container at the inverse posture. The content in the container still remains, which is not economical.
Further, in the improved type of container, two flanges are provided at the mouth portion. During injection of the liquid into a plurality of containers, flanges of the neighbouring container may be disadvantageously entered between the flanges of the first one of the container, to thereby degrade alignment of the containers. Therefore, continuous liquid injection to the successive containers may not be attainable.